Sunday, February 14, 2010

Narrow escape

Two issues I would like to share regarding the blast that occurred in the famous German bakery in Pune. One, had I been there a day later as per my husband's plan to visit the bakery we would have been among the victim's list and the media would have cried "Two from Tamil Nadu among the persons killed in the blast." It was a narrow escape for us as we visited the famous bakery a day before the blast occurred, exactly at the same time. Little did I know that the chairs that I sat on the small verandah of the bakery, the puddings and the cakes I relished and cherished, the waiters who served us with a warm smile, would face such a disaster the next day itself and the bakery would be on news for the worst reasons. It was such an awful experience that me and him couldn't wipe away the nightmares we had throughout the night. To put it in the philosophical note, we thought how short our life is and decided to make the best out of it.

The second issue is the most irritating factor. Certain part of the media has yet again reacted insensitively to such a sensitive issue. It is an example how stupidly, insanely media could handle such issues. A woman anchor of one of the television channels talks to one of the blast victim's mother. "Mam, how did you 'feel' when you came to know that your daughter was sitting on the same table where the bomb was planted." The poor mother, stuck with immense grief, had no answer. Obviously she will not. How will she have an answer for the question "How do you feel". She will 'feel' the same way as when the anchor's boyfriend or mother or any of her family members are killed in a blast or accident. She will 'feel' the same way as any other normal human being who lost their closed ones will behave. Where has the ethics of journalism gone and when are we going to stop asking such dumb questions to people who are already in misery? When are we going to stop sensitising issues? When will the media learn a lesson?

Bomb blasts and terror strikes have now become part and parcel of common man's life. Every other day a blast occurs in some place and the country wakes up, television channels rush to cover the issue in the most sensitive way so that they could give the hottest news to the people, ministers stand in a row to say "It's such an unfortunate incident. The government will do the needful." blah blah blah...Is there no proper way to fight against these dark forces of terrorism? Why are we always crying over the spilt milk rather than trying to take some consistent preventive measures?

The day before the blast when I visited Koregaon Park, the blast site, I casually mentioned to my husband. "So much of foreigners and a lot of international audience are here. This place looks quite vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Why is the security so thin here?". This question would arise in any citizen's mind. Except for the Jewish Chabad house, (that too only after the 26/11 attack), there was no security in the area even though intelligence reports had already mentioned that Headly had screened the area, the Osho ashram and indeed the German Bakery and warned of possible terror attacks. Surprisingly, rather shockingly, security was relaxed in the area a week before for reasons unknown. What could be this called other than the lethargic attitude of the government? Rather than gathering support for marathis and the marathi language and fighting for the Ram Sethu and Ram temple, the politicians could use their brain power to find a proper solution to save innocent lives. It is what the people expect. It is what every Indian citizen asks for-Security to their lives. It is not the language or the religion that is going to save them. Instead of making a hue and cry over such issues, only after the damage is done, it is important to understand that prevention is always better than cure. Jai Hind.